July 30, 2020 The Hon. Eugene Scalia Secretary of Labor 200 Constitution Ave NW Washington, DC 20210 Dear Mr. Secretary: The investment of private retirement funds into Chinese companies that do not comply with basic transparency standards, and in many cases rely upon child- and slave-labor, is incompatible with fundamental American values and must be discontinued. Fortunately, the Department of Labor’s proposed rule, Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments1 seeking to rein in politicized investing by private pension fund managers provides the ideal opportunity to exclude non-transparent Chinese assets from inclusion in our nation’s retirement portfolios. The underlying proposed rule is an important protection for pensioners and 401(k) investors against involuntarily paying the price for a political “thumb on the scale,” one that has the effect of shortchanging retirement security. Under the banner of “environmental, social (justice), and governance (ESG),” mutual fund and pension managers are increasingly investing in ways that advance their political and social predilections, but may not be consistent with their duties to clients. While such an arrangement may be acceptable to individual investors, Labor’s proposed rule rightly points out that under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), private pension fund managers must act with an “eye singularly” on their fiduciary responsibility to plan participants and beneficiaries. Proponents of ESG causes have chosen to ignore the financial consequences of their actions and weaponized financial tools to pressure corporations to support their priorities. Many politicized fund managers push ESG as they can often charge higher fees for such investments while selling their political investments as the product of diligent financial analyses. The Labor Department is reminding pension managers that there is a place for politics and a place for sound investment decisions. When ESG investments put politics over fund performance, they are unsuitable. There are already indications that fund managers may seek to flout Labor’s rule if it is promulgated in its current form. It has been suggested that ESG fund managers might simply change their marketing materials to state that their ESG investments are actually designed to maximize returns. In crafting its final rule, Labor must, therefore, also ensure that fund managers further increase the transparency of their investment choices. To that end, the proposed rule should be amended so as to require that private retirement investments be transparent, assuring fund managers and their beneficiaries that the companies they are buying are sound. Incredible as it may seem, since at least 2013, when former Vice President Biden engineered a Memorandum of Understanding 2 giving Chinese companies a waiver from U.S. transparency requirements, retirement funds, pensions and other non-retirement investors have splurged on such

1 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/30/2020-13705/financial-factors-in-selecting-plan- investments#open-comment 2 http://upload.news.esnai.com/2013/0617/1371444412766.pdf companies – even though they do not meet the same auditing standards as their American corporate counterparts. The effect is to put U.S. retirement investors at great risk. Now is the time to change this, by amending the proposed rule to require specifically that any company that wishes to be eligible for retirement or pension investing meet our nation’s statutory and regulatory standards for transparency. To add insult to the injury arising from the present, non-transparent arrangement is the fact that many Chinese companies whose stocks are owned by U.S. retirement accounts and defined benefits pension plans are up to their necks in producing goods using child- and slave-labor. 3 By allowing investments into these companies, the Labor Department is effectively making individual 401(k) owners or pensioners parties to and profiteers from the exploitation of the victims of such cruel abuse. This is wholly repugnant and unacceptable. For all these reasons, we strongly support the Department of Labor’s proposed rule-making aimed at curbing some inadequately transparent and politicized investing by private pension fund managers. We urge as well that this principle be expanded to ensure that all assets held by private retirement funds, including the mutual funds in such accounts, are fully transparent consistent with the laws of the United States. Sincerely, The Hon. Edwin Meese III Sen. Jim DeMint Attorney General of the U.S. Chairman Conservative Partnership Institute The Hon. Frank R. Wolf Former Member of Congress The Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell Former Treasurer of State Ohio The Hon. John Poindexter Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Alfred S. Regnery Former National Security Advisor to Chairman the President Conservative Action Project

The Hon. Tony Perkins LTG Thomas G. McInerney, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) President Chairman YottaStor LLC

Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, LTG Steven Kwast, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) U.S. Army (ret) CEO Executive Vice President Kwast Enterprise, LLC Family Research Council Tim Wildmon J. Kyle Bass President Chief Investment Officer American Family Association Hayman Capital Management Bill Walton BG Robert Spalding, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) Chairman CEO Resolute Protector Foundation Subutai LLC

3 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods Eric Metaxas LTC Allen B. West, U.S. Army (Ret.) Author and Talk Show Host Former Member of Congress Metaxas Media Chairman Republican Party of Texas Keith Frankel CEO Ambassador Henry F. Cooper Windmill Health Products Former Chief Defense and Space Negotiator Former Director, Strategic Defense Initiative Andrew Whitney Executive Chairman Brent Bozell Oceanic Energy Founder Media Research Center Dr. Bob Fu Founder & President Rory O'Connor China Aid President and Chairman Athenai Institute Dr. Jianli Yang Founder and President Joseph Bosco Citizen Power Initiatives for China Former China Desk Officer Department of Defense Peter Huessy President Michael Horowitz Geostrategic Analysis CEO 21st Century Initiatives Herman Pirchner, Jr. President Russell Ramsland American Foreign Policy Council Co-Founder Allied Special Operations Group Enghebatu Togochog President Fred Weinberg Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information CEO Center USA Radio Networks

E. Patrick Jenevein III CEO Honorary Chairman Pointe Bello Action

Brigitte Gabriel Frank J. Gaffney Chairman Vice Chairman ACT For America Committee on the Present Danger: China

Kevin Jessip Rick Manning Chairman of the Board President SaveThePersecutedChristians.org Americans for Limited Government

Peggy Dau GYSGT Jessie Jane Duff. U.S. Marine Corps Special Liaison Representative (Ret.) (Ret.) The Voice of the Martyrs Military Advisor, Committee on the Present Danger: China

Bishop E.W. Jackson Robert Broussard President President STAND Foundation, Inc. UST

David L. Black, Ph.D. COL James E. Dau, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) Founder and President CEO and President (Ret.) 2ndVote The Voice of the Martyrs

COL Robert L. Maness, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) Marc Little President Chairman Iron Liberty Group LLC Center for Urban Renewal and Education

Frank Wright, Ph.D. Floyd Brown CEO Publisher D. Janes Kennedy Ministries The Western Journal

Xiaoxu Sean Lin, Ph.D. Suzanne Scholte Executive director President Global Alliance Against Communist Propaganda Defense Forum Foundation and Disinformation Steven W. Mosher The Hon. Gary L. Bauer President President Population Research Institute American Values Rod D. Martin George Parker Founder and CEO Executive Director The Martin Organization, Inc. Revealing Light Ministries Greg Mitchell Peter Flaherty Chairman Chairman International Religious Freedom Roundtable National Legal and Policy Center Dean Baxendale LCDR Demetrius Cox, U.S. Navy (Ret.) President and Publisher Investor Optimum Publishing International

The Hon. Kenneth deGraffenreid Dennis Black Former Special Assistant to the President President for National Security Affairs American Jobs Alliance

Keith E. Sirois The Hon. Salih Hudayar President & CEO Prime Minister Capital Management HPP, Inc. East Turkistan Government in Exile

Terri Marsh, Esq. Oluwasayo Ajiboye Executive Director President Human Rights Law Foundation Mission Africa International

Maria Zack Dr. Jianli Yang Chairman Founder and President Quantum Solutions Software Citizen Power Initiatives for China Glenn Preston Story Maura Moynihan Co-Founder & President Author Patriot Mobile Students for a Free Tibet

Rod Vandenbos Preston Schleinkofer CEO President Buzzbox Civil Defense Radio

Seton Motley Joseph A. Morris President Assistant U.S. Attorney General (President Less Government Reagan)

Saulius "Saul" Anuzis James L. Martin President Founder/Chairman 60 Plus Association 60 Plus Association

C. Preston Noell III Kenneth R. Timmerman President Author and President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. Foundation for Democracy in Iran

Daniel Perrin Thomas Pyle Founder President HSA Coalition American Energy Alliance

Robert K. Fischer Judson Phillips Meeting Coordinator Founder Conservatives of Faith

J. Christian Adams Tim LeFever President Chairman Public Interest Legal Foundation Capitol Resource Institute

Charlie Copeland Steve Berger President Pastor Intercollegiate Studies Institute Grace Chapel

Joan Holt Lindsey Donald L. Woodsmall President President Lindsey Communications Arromid, LLC

Allen J. Hebert Kielle C. Horton Chairman President American-Chinese Fellowship of The Lindsey Foundation

David Kullberg Carol L. Fallon Executive Director President Christians for a Sustainable Economy Morningstar Enterprises

Roxanne Phillips Sandy Rios Executive Committee Director of Governmental Affairs CNP American Family Association Daniel Schneider Rob Chambers Executive Director Vice President American Conservative Union AFA Action

George Rasley Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. Managing Editor CorsiNation.com ConservativeHQ.com Sean Noble Justin Danhof President General Counsel American Encore National Center for Public Policy Research Ron Pearson Scott Shepard Executive Director Deputy Director, Free Enterprise Project Conservative Victory Fund National Center for Public Policy Research Jake Hoffman Kumar Thangudu President & CEO EngineerSF, LLC Rally Forge

Nathan Chan Sal Russo Voice of the Himalayas Co-Founder and Chief Strategist David Oakley, Jr. Past Chairman Erin Elmore OADA and Auto Dealership Owner Executive Director Oklahoma Auto Dealer Association USA Strong

Jared Winebarger Ron Polomsky Lt. Col., USAF (Retired) CBPO St. Francis of Assisi Parish DHS Castle Rock, Colorado

Kenneth P. Urso, Retired Pastor Greg Young Urso&Associates Radio Host Chosen Generation Radio Show Preston Schleinkofer President Brooke McGowan Civil Defense Radio Co-Founder MAGA Institute Nancy Schulze Board Member Sam Sorbo Women for Trump Writer/Producer/Education Activist SamSorbo.com Penna Dexter Co-host Ed Corrigan Point of View Radio Executive Director Conservative Partnership Institute Frank Wright, Ph.D. CEO Brian R. Williams D. Janes Kennedy Ministries President Independent Strategies, LLC The Hon. Jill Norgaard Kevin Freeman Gretchen Smith Founder President NSIC Institute Code of Vets

The Hon. Mike Hill Dean N. Browning Florida State House President Common Sense Solutions Scot Mussi President Art Ayris Arizona Free Enterprise Club CEO Kingstone Comics Steven Gaynor Owner Kelly J. Ayris BDL, Inc. Co-owner Kingstone Media Group Faith J. H. McDonnell Director David Sigmon, Retired International Religious Liberty Program President and CEO Institute on Religion and Democracy BMI HeathPlans

Curtis Ellis Bernard Bertsche Author & Commentator Chairman Camcraft Inc. The Hon. Rex Rice State Senator Karen Ballou Lucas South Carolina Founder and CEO Immunocologie, LLC The Hon. Dave Williams Representative Sharon Baxter, Retire Colorado General Assembly Financial Administrative Assistant APEX The Hon. Kay J. Christofferson Representative Lianchao Han Utah House of Representatives Vice-president Citizen Power Initiatives for China Jo Rae Perkins U.S. Senate Nominee Suzanne Scholte Oregon President Defense Forum Foundation Jason A. Roberge Congressional Candidate The Hon. Mark Finchem Virginia Arizona House of Represntatives

Manga Anantatmula Charles J. Cooper Congressional Nominee Assistant Attorney General, President Ronald Virginia Reagan Cooper & Kirk, PLLC

Jessi Melton Mario Navarro da Costa Congressional Candidate Director Florida Washington Bureau Owner Tradition, Family, Property Paragon Wireless Group Eric Georgatos Gabi Grossbard Executive Producer Congressional Candidate America Can We Talk? Michigan Elaine Donnelly Ivan E. Raiklin President Former Green Beret Commander Center for Military Readiness

Rick Trader Kathleen Patten Producer/Host President and CEO Conservative Commandos Radio American Target Advertising, Inc.

Matthew Kirkeby Jay Mount Accountant President GAF MDS Communications Corporation

Luis Ma Randy M. Long Aircraft Mechanics President Long Family Office, Inc. Sheryl Kaufman Board of Directors Rick Scarborough Americans for Limited Government President Recover America Now Steve Berger Pastor Dr Allen Unruh Grace Chapel Founder National Abstinence Clearinghouse Herbert A. Stevens Retired Data Base Administrator E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D. Phillips Petroleum Co. President Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation Jeff Jayne Product/Process Development Manager Richard Rounsavelle LP Corporation Trustee MRC Chet Nagle Former Naval Aviator Richard D. Hayes Chief Operating Officer Partner Ravenna Associates, LLC Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP

Daniel J. Emig Peter J. Thomas Consultant-Trainer Chairman Frontier Partners International The Conservative Caucus

Scott Shepard The Hon. Anthony Kern Deputy Director Arizona State Representative Free Enterprise Project Arizona State House of Representatives National Center for Public Policy Research The Hon. Jason Saine Greg Pellegrino Representative Director, Business Development North Carolina House of Representatives Phillips 66 Company The Hon. Jason Chipman Dr. Xiaohua Jiang State Representative Tennessee Tech University Missouri House of Representatives

Qiang fu Pauline Chilton Engineer Congressional Candidate MTA Iowa Chilton for Iowa Suzanne Grishman Executive Director Vennia Francois Mercury One, Inc. Candidate, U.S. Congress FL10

Maggie Ni Mike Cargile Finance Director Congressional Candidate FACES SF California

Amapola Hansberger David Fegan Legal Immigrants for America Congressional Candidate Texas Mark Singer Follower of the Lord Jesus Christ King of Kings Dr. Tim Daughtry Moral Action Ministry Author Daughtry & Company

Greg Tweddell Matthew Tyrmand Founding Pastor Principal Ignition633 Ministries, LLC Matthew Tyrmand LLC

Jim Addcox Melissa Ortiz Global Marketing Manager, PE Principal Chevron Phillips Chemical LP DCBelleonWheels.com

Chris Gacek Sung Kim Senior Fellow Acupuncturist Family Research Council In Balance Acupuncture

Bonnie S Latshaw Jonathan Corey Senior Systems Analyst, Retired Attorney BP Exploration, Alaska Corey Law Group

Sherri R. Martin Thomas C. Morris Executive Vice President Retired Chief Financial Officer The Martin Organization, Inc. Phillips Petroleum Company

Haley E. Martin Charles R Hooper President Retired Project Manager & Electrical Designer The Martin Foundation Mars/Wrigley Company

Christina Murphy Lusk Kevin Potter Campaign for the American Future President KCD Enterprises, Inc. Guillermo J. Aragon Chief Financial Officer Paul Pickern Martin Imaging, Inc. CEO All Pro Pastors International Shawn A. Mitchell Former National Chaplain Jack Park, Esq. National Federation of Republican Assemblies Conservative Activist and Donor (NFRA) Law Offices of Jack Park

Jansen Baxter Don Walsh Specialist Corporate Systems Manager, Retired Gilead Phillips Petroleum Company

Stephen Schueth Huiling Zhao Transparency Personal Developer Oracle Gary Kilpatrick Manager Dr. George He Health, Environment and Safety Auditing (Ret.) Renesas USA ConocoPhillips Crista Huff Kim Henson Equity Portfolio Manager FBN Freedom Investment Partners LP

Ryan Caudill Timothy Metzler Oklahoma State Finance

Jin XuHong James Grillot NW kidney center Fleet Operations Manager Phillips Petroleum Company Boon Li Chua self-employed Kim Bongiorno Follower of Jesus Christ Xingyi Wang Moral Action Ministry Yoga teacher Personal trainer Lew Uhler Founder Thomas Adamo National Tax Limitation Committee

Wei Quan Susan Janiak Global Business Consultant Daniel Hui Private

Lawrence T. Peter Roger Lal Investor Aaron L. Pettigrew Gary Guan Qun Zuo Senior IT Specialist State Street Corporation Jim Merlotti Retired Ada Grillot Sensory Panelist Carmen Rios Colon 21st Sensory, Inc. Retired Teacher Gerald D Shepherd II Charlene Yang Technician UAL Damian Mikesell Yan Fang Robert Willan IT Engineer Cheetahdigital Mark S. Sherman Retired Charles Kelly Union Representative Routsuki Ye Grocery Store

Barbara Brecher Bruce Fang NGO Cameron Brown Jos Evans James Shen AiX